Tech giants Microsoft, Open AI and Nvidia face AI competitors probe
US regulators are set to launch a competition probe into Microsoft, Open AI and Nvidia in a crackdown against the tech giants dominating artificial intelligence (AI).
The US Justice Department (DoJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are nearing an agreement which will mean they can investigate the companies.
The DOJ will look at whether Nvidia violated competition laws, while the FTC will examine whether Microsoft and its partner Open AI have unfair advantages with the rapidly evolving technology.
The US Justice Department (DoJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are nearing an agreement which will mean they can investigate the companies.
The trio have been at the forefront of AI development, which exploded onto the scene at the end of 2022 following the release of ChatGPT.
Since then firms have piled millions of pounds into getting ahead.
But concerns have mounted that some of the biggest have too much control over the market, making it hard for smaller firms to get involved. Nvidia is the front-runner, with its graphics-processing unit playing an integral role in AI chips.
It became the world’s third $3trillion (£2.3trillion) company yesterday as its shares continue to rocket. Microsoft owns around 49pc of Open AI, a leading research lab developer, programming chat bots to churn out content with simple prompts.
But it is not just the US regulators that are concerned.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK has found an ‘interconnected web’ of AI partnerships involving the same firms: Google, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Nvidia.
‘When we started this work, we were curious. Now, with a deeper understanding and having watched developments very closely, we have real concerns,’ Sarah Cardell, the chief executive of the CMA said.
It is already reviewing Microsoft’s multi-billion dollar partnership with Open AI.
But analysts point out that this could spell danger for advances.
‘This will stop the 100mph AI freight train from accelerating ahead for the rest of tech,’ Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush, said.
